Spool



(No Model.)

S. MATHER.

SPOOL Patented May 24,1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT EETCE.

SIDNEY MATIAIER, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

SPOOL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 604,540, dated May 24, 1898.

Application filed April 5, 1897. Serial No. 630,684. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, SIDNEY MATHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spools and Bobbins; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide spools and bobbins which shall be provided with slots or recesses to receive and hold small articles, such as needles. It will of course be apparent that spools of this class may be used in various ways, and it is well known that in factories-for example, corset factories-it is not infrequent to break a number of sewing-machine needles in using up one two -thousand -four hundred yard spool of thread. By providing them with two or three needles, which shall go with each spool of thread as part of the package itself, considerable time may be saved when the needles break. In order to meet this and similar requirements, I have devised the novel spool of which the following descriptiom-in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, numbers being used to designate the several parts.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view, partly in vertical section, of a spool provided with a slot or recess of such shape as to adapt it to receive sewing-machine needles and provided with an opening in the end through which the needles may be removed before the thread is used. Fig. 2 represents a crosssection through the barrel of the spool.

l designates the heads of the spool or bobbin, and 2 the barrel, and 3 the usual longitudinal opening.

The novel feature of my invention consists in providing the barrel of the spool with a slot or recess 4. The size and shape of this recess is not of the essence ofmy invention. It is essential, however, that this recess be located wholly at one side of the central opening, so that the contents of the recess will not pass into the central opening under any circumstances. The length of the slot may be greater or less, according to the length of the barrel and the length of the needles to be placed therein. In Fig. l I have represented the slot as extending the entire length of the barrel of the spool and also extended into one of the heads of the spool, the edges of the recess converging under the head of the spool, as indicated at 5, and terminating in an opening G, through which the needles may be removed by turning the spool end for end.

In practice the thread is wound upon the spool in the usual manner, and the needles are thereby prevented from slipping out laterally from the slot or recess. Should the operator of the sewing-machine on the spindle of which a spool is mounted break a needle, it would simply be necessary to remove the spool from the spindle, turn it over, and let a needle slip out and then replace the spool upon the spindle.

For the actual purposes of my invention it would not be necessary that the slot should extend through from side to side of the barrel of the spool, as indicated in the drawings; but in order to manufacture the spools in the most economical manner the saw or other tool by means of which the slot is formed approaches the barrel at a tangent and extends through to the other side in the slotting operation. The tapered end 5 of the recess may be formed in any suitable manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- A spool or bobbin having its barrel provided with a slot or recess lying wholly at one side of the usual longitudinal opening, said slot or recess extending into one of the heads of the spool, and the sides of the recess in the head converging at one end and leading into an opening 6, through which the contents of the recess may be removed before the thread is used. Y p

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SIDNEY MATIIER.

Witnessesz A. M. VOosTEE, SUSAN V. HELEY. 

